Indebted
by Fortune Maiden
Summary: "That's just how it is," Ryuu slumped onto the desk, "I don't care if I get pummeled or become the Student Council's lapdog. Better that than risk losing Io's friendship."


**Indebted**

_"That's just how it is," Ryuu slumped onto the desk, "I don't care if I get pummeled or become the Student Council's lapdog. Better that than risk losing Io's friendship."_

* * *

It promised to be a good day. The kind of day one could almost look forward too, even if more than half of it would be inside a school. The students slowly made their way up the stairs to the campus (for there was still time before the first bell), and among them one Yufuin En could be seen, almost beaming with pride.

Atsushi walked beside him, the only conversation between them being the occasional praise at En's uncharacteristic punctuality that morning. Mornings were normally a rushed affair, and it was almost a miracle that they _ever_ made it to homeroom on time. But today En looked forward to sitting down at his desk, leaning back in his chair, and smugly taking in the stunned faces of his classmates and teachers.

All of that good cheer came crashing to a halt though, when a white and pink blur leapt through the shrubs and hopped across the campus, just as Atsushi and En reached the top step. Atsushi stopped in his tracks to stare. En tilted his head.

"Wasn't that Ryuu?"

"Yeah," Atsushi nodded, "Why was he…?"

"Does it matter?" En yawned, "He moved pretty fast though. Maybe we should do that next time we're running late."

"You'll just start using it as an excuse to sleep more," Atsushi scolded, but his voice was distant. His gaze stayed locked on the last place he saw Ryuu land before he'd disappeared from view. Several students bunching together to look around for the elusive Battle Lover. There was no risk of them recognizing him thanks to the camouflage technology, but it was still troubling.

"Ah, but Atsushi," En teased, "Why have powers, if we can't put them to good use once in a while, right?" He took a step forward, but stopped when he realized Atsushi wasn't following. "Atsushi?"

"Do you think something happened?" Atsushi asked, "Doesn't he usually come to school with Io? And _not_ as a Battle Lover?"

"Perhaps? It's not really our business though," En replied, with a bored shrug. He was just about to put the whole thing out of his mind when a deep angry voice suddenly called out to them.

En turned his head, and narrowed his eyes in suspicion as a burly teen in a disheveled black longcoat over a wrinkled white shirt and black jeans approached them. His hair was bleached and he stood with his head held high, shoulders hunched forward, and hands in pockets. His upper lip was curled into what was probably a permanent sneer.

_Oh this is just great, _En thought bitterly, and stepped back so that he was directly between his friend and the stranger. "Can I help you?" he asked curtly.

"You two students here?" the teen probed rudely. En looked down at himself, then at Atsushi, and then at the students already on campus for good measure.

"So says the uniform. You?"

"Don't get cute. Either of you know a punk named Zaou?"

"Never heard of him," En replied without missing a beat, "It's a big school."

"You sure about that?" the teen's glare deepened, "He seems like a memorable type. Maybe your friend knows him." En could sense Atsushi shaking his head behind him.

"There are lots of memorable types at this school," En remarked, "They're so memorable that you forget all about them after a while. Now if you'll excuse us," he turned to squeeze Atsushi's shoulder, but his glare never left the teen, "_We_ have a class to get to." As he all but pushed Atsushi forward, En added, "Security 'round here is actually pretty good. I suggest you get lost." He didn't need to look to know the gesture the thug was giving him.

It wasn't until they were just outside the building that En glanced back, and saw the thug still standing by the steps, only now with two similarly dressed figures beside him.

"_Now_ it's our business," he whispered to Atsushi and entered the school.

* * *

The day seemed promising. Ryuu glanced around the classroom briefly before walking in to take his seat. It was still fairly early, so there weren't many heads to turn to him when he plopped into his chair, with a loud, relieved sigh. His heart thundered in his chest as the adrenaline coursed through him. He still couldn't believe his plan actually worked. He got to school unnoticed.

Ryuu made a mental note to thank Wombat for the whole Battle Lovers gig. Never did he think the camouflage and enhanced physical abilities would prove so useful. He could probably make a routine of it. Maybe even sleep in some more in the mornings.

But then again, Ryuu realized, coming _to_ school was the easy part. He could always tell Io not to wait for him in the mornings, but after school, especially on club days, he'd need some excuse to justify turning into Vesta and sneaking away. He couldn't drag the others into this. Io especially.

Ryuu laid his head on the desk, hoping that his heart would hurry up and slow down so he wouldn't have to feel it echo in his head. He barely noticed the rest of his classmates filing in, until the chair to his right scraped across the floor and Io greeted him with a warm, "Good morning."

"Morning," Ryuu lifted his head forcing his best carefree smile.

"You're here early today," Io observed.

"Yeah, had to take care of something this morning. Went better than I thought, so here I am."

"That's good," Io furrowed his brow though, as if unsure if he should accept that answer, "Is everything alright? You seem a little pale."

"Oh do I?" Ryuu shrugged, "Just a bit tired. Some trouble sleeping."

"I see. Girl troubles?"

"Yeah, something like that," Ryuu admitted sheepishly, relieved that Io didn't keep pressing the issue after that. He wanted to just put the whole thing out of his mind and pretend to pay attention to the class. But then Io suddenly leaned in close and whispered,

"I overheard some students saying they saw a Battle Lover run through the campus earlier. Was that you?"

"No way," Ryuu lied smoothly, "Maybe Yumoto?"

"Maybe," Io wasn't convinced, but at that moment the teacher arrived, and all discussions were suspended.

_I can do this_, Ryuu assured himself as morning roll call began, _There's no need to get the others involved._

* * *

"Wanna explain to us why you came to school this morning as Battle Lover Vesta?"

So much for a promising day.

Ryuu supposed it shouldn't have been _that_ surprising that he would get cornered about this. If Io had heard about a Battle Lover sighting, it was only a matter of time before Atsushi, En and Yumoto heard about it as well, and once they'd eliminated themselves, he was the obvious choice.

He didn't expect to be confronted like this though, with his seniors dragging him to the clubroom during lunch, sitting him down and shining a desk lamp on him, while they stood over him like a pair of cops in a budget serial drama interrogation. And why were they _starting_ with the bad cop?

At least it was just them. Yumoto was more interested in cuddling Wombat (or more accurately, pacifying the pink alien's own irritation) and made himself sparse in the corner of the room; and it was pure luck that Io had a call to make and went to the courtyard for some privacy (though part of Ryuu suspected that the others would have found a way to get him alone anyway).

"Well?" En asked, a frown creasing his usually indifferent face. Atsushi wore a similar expression, albeit more uneasy than irate.

"Why do you think it was me?" Ryuu shrugged, "Maybe it was Io. Or some loony cosplayer."

"We saw you, Ryuu," Atsushi told him quietly.

"Oh," Ryuu leaned back in his chair, "Guess there's no point in hiding it then. Truth is, I overslept and couldn't afford another tardy on my record. It worked out pretty well though. Maybe you should try it, Yufuin-senpai."

"Absolutely not!" Wombat yelled indignantly, "The Loveracelets are for you to save those poor students who get turned into monsters and fill the world with love. Don't use them for such selfish purposes!"

"Now, now Wom-san," Yumoto hugged him closer, "It was a one-time thing, so just forgive and forget." Wombat tried to voice a protest, but it died out as a fit of cuddle-induced giggles seized him.

"Yeah, like Yumoto says, forgive and forget," Ryuu agreed eagerly.

"Yeah, sorry, to break it to you, but we were actually _early_ this morning," En replied with an unmistakable touch of pride in his voice. Ryuu's eyes widened.

"Wow, _you,_ Yufuin-senpai? Congratulations! Was this a new record?"

"Damn straight."

"Nice. What did your classmates say?"

"They—hey wait, stop trying to change the subject," En snapped, "You still haven't answered my question."

"What's the big deal?" Ryuu sighed, "I guess, I just wanted to see what it'd be like. I like the feel of the wind in my hair when we do all those leaps in battle, so why not, right? But if it bothers you guys that much, I won't do it again. Can I go now?" He moved to get up, but stopped when he saw the piercing looks he was getting. "What now?"

"Ryuu…" Atsushi exchanged a nod with En, who then took over the question.

"Wanna explain to us why a group of thugs were hanging around campus looking for you?"

Ryuu was grateful for the chair now, for if he was standing, his knees might have buckled. The carefree grin he'd forced himself to maintain shattered. "T-they were _here_?" he couldn't believe how weak his voice sounded. He knew they were still around, but he never imagined that they'd have actually followed him to school. He reached for his bracelet for assurance, even more grateful for the trinket now.

Atsushi turned off the obnoxious desk lamp, and sat down across from Ryuu. "This is why you came to school transformed, isn't it?" he asked softly . Ryuu nodded.

"Did they approach you? You didn't tell them where I was, did you?"

"Of course not," En waved his hand dismissively, "I told them to get lost, but I doubt those guys will listen. What's going on? If they're threatening you…" Ryuu saw out of the corner of his eye that Yumoto and Wombat stopped their playing, watching him with wide-eyes. It was they hadn't heard about this part before.

"It's no big deal, really?" Ryuu's voice shook, "I'm handling it."

"Ryuu-senpai," Yumoto's voice was soft and comforting, "Please tell us. We're friends, right?"

Had it been anyone else saying that, Ryuu would have continued deflecting, but against Yumoto's sincerity, he couldn't help but want to take the outstretched hand he was being offered. He moved his chair closer to the desk, folding his arms on top of it. "Y-yeah alright," he swallowed back the lump in his throat, "The truth is, this weekend, a bunch of this and that happened and I… I accidentally knocked over a couple of motorbikes and their sides got a bit damaged." He braced himself for his friends' reactions. But they were still watching him intently, with growing concern. "Um, yeah, that's it."

"So, they're forcing you to pay for the damage?" En verified.

"Basically."

"How much do you owe them?" Atsushi asked.

"100,000 yen," Ryuu answered, "50,000 for each bike. I mean, I get it, you know. It was my bad, and repairs are expensive. But I don't have that kind of money, and I've told them to give me some time, but they're not really the understanding types. Yesterday, I spotted them by my building… and I guess they must have traced my uniform to school." He gripped his blazer, "I've avoided them so far, but if this keeps up…"

Atsushi reached across the desk and placed his hand of Ryuu's arm, as a comforting gesture. "It's alright. We'll figure this out."

"Thanks Kinugawa-senpai but—

"No buts. Atsushi, how much do you have on you right now?" En interrupted, "I have 500, but there's probably more change in my bag."

"I have 2,000 in my wallet," Atsushi answered. They then turned to Yumoto expectantly. Realizing he was being addressed, he looked away from the clubroom door, and fished out 12 yen from his pocket with a sheepish smile. En and Atsushi groaned.

"H-hold on, I can't take your money," Ryuu protested.

"You can and you will," En told him, "Or I'd like to say that, but that's not nearly enough."

"If Ryuu can avoid them for one more day, then tomorrow—

"No, we need to settle this asap," En crossed his arms in deep thought, "Tomorrow might already be too late. If they're brazen enough to hang around the school, it's only a matter of time before they cause trouble and get the faculty involved. Or worse, the student council."

"Oh yeah, speaking of not-understanding types," Ryuu grimaced. If things escalated any further, he could easily wind up with a suspension. No, knowing the student council, they would easily milk his misery for much more than that. Gero would make sure of it.

"The Student Council President does care for the student body, Ryuu," Atsushi said, then lowered his gaze, "But in truth, I'd rather not involve them either."

"Right then, next plan," En leaned against the desk, "It's true that our 2,512 yen doesn't mean anything, but loose change piles up. Let's ask our classmates. If we can get a little bit from everyone—

"We can get enough to pay off Ryuu-senpai's debt!" Yumoto finished thoughtfully, but his voice lacked its usual enthusiasm. Atsushi's face mirrored that weariness.

"To be honest, I don't think it will work," he said, "Loose change doesn't pile up _that_ quickly and, even if we told them what's going on, there are going to be plenty of guys who might not be willing to lend. And if we don't reach our goal by the last bell, it's meaningless."

"Well if you put it like that," En frowned, "Wait, don't we have a club budget? Can't we dip into that?"

"No, we handed in our club application long after the funds had been allocated. Sorry."

"No, it's fine," Ryuu sighed, "To be honest, I'm not really comfortable asking the whole school for money either." He didn't miss the relief that flashed in Atsushi and Yumoto's eyes. It was great of them to offer to help out, but he wasn't going to push them into doing something unpleasant for his sake. Money was such a dirty topic. He hated it.

"Begging your pardon, but can I make a suggestion?" Wombat spoke up, "Can you not ask Naruko-san for—

"No!" Ryuu jumped up from his chair, "I'm not bugging Io with this."

"But—

"No."

"Back off Wombat," En scowled, "Don't you think that's the first thing that crossed our minds too?" He sat down beside Atsushi . "He could easily write a check for that amount but…"

"I'm not asking him," Ryuu said once more, "I can't."

"Maybe we should try though? All together?" Atsushi suggested, "Even if he says no, he can help us think of a better solution."

"We can't tell him about this. _Please_," Ryuu begged, "I think I can go to Gero and offer to become his slave until I can pay him back. Or I could just take a beating or two. I'm cool with that." He stood up, shakily, ready to crawl out of the clubroom if his legs failed him.

"Like hell you are," En snapped, "Sit down."

"Ryuu, calm down," Atsushi told him firmly, "We won't tell Io if you don't want us to."

Yumoto looked at the door again warily. "Ryuu-senpai, why are you so against this? Io-senpai's your best friend, isn't he?"

"It's _because_ he's my friend that I can't ask him," Ryuu yelled. The others flinched slightly but waited patiently as their friend took a deep breath and sat back down, loosening his tie as he did so.

"That's just how it is," Ryuu slumped onto the desk, "I don't care if I get pummeled or become the Student Council's lapdog. Better that than risk losing Io's friendship."

"What do you mean?" Yumoto asked sitting down at the table as well. Wombat remained in his lap. "Why would you lose Io-senpai's friendship?"

An old memory entered Ryuu's mind making him chuckle bitterly. "Kinugawa-senpai," he said, "Forget that I'm in debt for a moment. If I asked you, out of the blue, to borrow 100 yen, would you give it to me?"

"Of course," Atsushi answered without a second thought.

"Alright, and if I came by to pay you back a day or two later, would you accept it? Be honest."

Atsushi considered it. "Probably not," he admitted, "I mean, it's just 100 yen after all."

"Fair enough," Ryuu agreed, "But what if I'd asked for 1,000 yen? Would you lend me that?"

"I think so… but I probably _would_ expect you to pay that back."

"Right," Ryuu nodded, "Now let's say, on ten separate, unrelated, fairly spaced out occasions I asked you for 100 yen. What then?"

"Is there a point to this story?" En asked.

"Yes. Well, Kinugawa-senpai?"

Atsushi bit his lower lip as he thought it over. "To be honest, I don't know. It's 1,000 yen either way, but if you're borrowing it 100 yen at a time, and fairly spaced out, I probably wouldn't even think about that."

"That's how most people would act," En pointed out.

"Gora-an-chan says one shouldn't borrow or lend money."

"Your big bro's a smart man," Ryuu said, "He and Io would get along well." Yumoto beamed.

"But what does that have to do with why you won't tell Io about this?" Atsushi asked.

"I'm getting there," Ryuu remarked, "Io's pretty stingy, so on the off chance he lends you even one yen, he'll expect you to pay him back right away, and if you don't, you're effectively dead to him. He's been like that since I'd met him, and to be honest, I hated him for it."

"That's surprising," Atsushi said, "You guys are so close now."

"How long ago was "back then"?" Yumoto asked.

"Last year," Ryuu answered, "We were in the same class and luck of the draw put our desks next to each other, so I was always seeing him trade stocks in class. He wasn't shy about it either, practically bragging about how much money he was making. And well, you know how people can be. They see a young smart guy making money, and there's a bit of a resentment. Lots of guys started asking him for finance tips and tried to borrow money, and getting pretty pissed off when he refused. Hell, I wasn't part of that, but even I found him to be a conceited bastard. I was pretty vocal about it too."

The others exchanged glances.

"How very… blunt." Atsushi stated. En sniggered.

"So what changed?" Yumoto pressed, eager for the rest of the story.

"Three things," Ryuu held up three fingers, "One, Gero joined the student council and became more insufferable than Io could ever hope to be. Two, the fact that I sat next to Io meant that I could see exactly how much he was making _and_ how much he was losing. And three…" Ryuu trailed off.

"Three?"

"There was an… _incident_."

* * *

_It was nothing but rotten luck that Ryuu'd forgotten his bag in the classroom. The whole day had been rotten really, and he'd been looking forward to going home already. It couldn't be helped though, so he entered the classroom intending to just grab his bag and leave. Simple as that. _

_Io was still inside the room, sitting at his desk with his laptop out. Beside him, stood another boy from their class, smugly chattering away. It was easy to tell that the conversation was extremely one-sided, and Ryuu couldn't help but feel secondhand annoyance for Io. But he said nothing, just walked over to his desk to get his bag. _

_It was the other guy's fault he'd gotten involved. "Oh hey Zaou, great timing," the guy beckoned him, "Let's have a second opinion on this."_

_"My mind won't change," Io replied tersely, fully absorbed in his laptop. A quick glance at the screen told Ryuu that he was reanalyzing his portfolio. The stock market was done for the day, but there was still a lot of reflection to do, in preparation for the next day._

_"Aw don't be like that," the guy said in a smarmy tone, "It's not like I'm asking for a lot, and I will pay you back, honest."_

_"No." Ryuu rolled his eyes, and grabbed his bag. _

_"There you have it," he said, "No means no." He'd intended to leave without another word, but as soon as his back was turned, the guy snapped,_

_"What gives Zaou? You're supposed to back me up. This guy's loaded. It's not like he won't just easily make up ten times the amount I'm asking for by tomorrow." Io narrowed his eyes, but didn't respond, leaving Ryuu unsure if he was reacting to the comment or something onscreen. Either way though, that'd been the final straw. _

_Maybe it was because Ryuu was already irritated from forgetting his bag, or having to hear this drivel, or the day in general, but as soon as those words reached his ears, he dropped his bag, walked back up to Io's desk, and slammed his palm against it with all of his strength. The impact made a loud snapping noise that reverberated throughout the classroom, startling both classmates. The guy stepped back, while Io just moved his laptop closer to himself and looked at up Ryuu critically. Ryuu ignored him._

_"You know what," he said in a low cold tone, looking their classmate directly in the eye., "Maybe before you start dictating how other people use their hard-earned cash, _you_ should try earning some. The answer is no. Back. Off." _

_The guy opened his mouth to protest, but under the scrutiny of both Ryuu and Io's glares, he threw his hands up and stormed out of the classroom. _

_It was only after his footprints couldn't be heard anymore, that Ryuu's rage melted into pain and he cradled his stinging hand, biting his lip to keep from wincing. _

_"That looks painful," Io observed unhelpfully. _

_"No shit," Ryuu hissed, and waved his hand, "Whatever though. It'll be fine in a few minutes."_

_"Good," Io replied and closed his laptop, carefully placing it into his bag. He then stood up and started to leave._

_"What? No "thank you"?" Ryuu asked._

_"You did not do anything that I could not have done myself," Io replied coolly, "I had the situation under control."_

_"Yeah, well, I saved you some time, didn't I? Time is money and all that, right?"_

_Io considered this, and nodded. "Yes, perhaps you did. Thank you then." Ryuu grinned and grabbed his own bag from the floor. _

_"Don't mention it. What that guy said really pissed me off though. "Easily make up"—yeah right. You actually had a lot of losses today, didn't you?" Io whirled around to face him, his expression stern._

_"How do you know that?"_

_"I sit next to you, remember?" Ryuu glanced at their desks, "And your tablet is a lot more interesting than our teachers, I have to say."_

_"I suppose," Io looked a bit unsure, "If you're asking me to teach you—_

_"Pass!" Ryuu interrupted with a shudder, "I'd never be able to do something like that. I mean, just today, you've lost more money than I'll probably ever see in my lifetime. I felt sick just looking at it."_

_"Trust me, so did I." _

_"Yeah, but you were sitting here, thinking about how you were going to make up for that, weren't you? You're really passionate about this. It's actually pretty admirable." _

_"…Thank you." Even in the dimly lit room, Ryuu could see a faint blush rising to Io's face. Unable to help himself, he burst out laughing._

_"Oh man, I thought you were a total Ice King, but you're actually kinda endearing."_

_"Excuse me?" Io's face only reddened further, adding to Ryuu's laughter. _

_"Aw look at that, my hand stopped stinging," he flexed his fingers, "Well see you tomorrow, Naruko. Let me know if anyone else talks to you like that. I'll set them straight." He was just out the door when Io snapped,_

_"Just what are you trying to pull?"_

_Ryuu paused. "Pull? Can't a guy just offer his classmate a friendly hand?"_

_"_Friend_," Io uttered the word coldly, "No thank you. I have no need of such costly things." Ryuu's eye twitched._

_"Is it always going to be about money with you?" he grumbled, "Look, yeah, you might spend money you wouldn't otherwise, but you're going to miss out on a ton if you're always by yourself. And just so you know, I want to befriend _you_, not your money. That stuff won't ever be a factor. Man's honor." Ryuu held out his hand, a confident smile on his face._

_Io looked at Ryuu's grin and extended arm, and finally he couldn't help reveal a small smile himself. "Very well. I'll accept your proposal," he shook it. But as he walked past Ryuu, he added, "But just so you know, there are other meanings to the word _costly_." Ryuu raised a brow, wondering if there was a story behind that, but decided he would rather make sure he never found out._

* * *

The clubroom was moved to tears… or more specifically, Wombat was.

"What a beautiful story," he cried, "Such beautiful friendship."

"You know, when you said "incident" so dramatically, I was expecting something a little more action packed," En muttered to himself, "But yeah, I think I get it now."

"It _is_ a nice story Ryuu-senpai," Yumoto insisted, glancing back, "I bet Io-senpai thinks fondly of it too."

"I hope so," Ryuu muttered, "But you see? I can't ask him for help with this. Even if I don't directly ask him for a loan, it's going to loom over us. I'm not losing my best friend over this."

"I get where you're coming from Ryuu, but," Atsushi exchanged looks with En, "But you could get hurt!"

"That's fine."

"Well, I guess that's that then," En stood up, walked around the desk over to Ryuu, and clapped him on the shoulder, "Wait for me when the final class lets out. Those guys will likely be hanging around waiting for you. I'd like to have a little chat with them."

"En-chan—

"Don't worry," En smirked, "We got along so well this morning. I'm sure we can come to an understanding. And if it comes to it… I could probably take on one."

"There were _three _and we're trying to make sure it _doesn't_ come to that," Atsushi rebuked him, "We'll think of something, Ryuu. Maybe if all of us approach them, we can force an understanding. There's strength in numbers."

"Oh! What if we introduce them to Gora-an-chan?" Yumoto offered, "My brother is good at lots of things. Maybe he can fix their bikes."

"It is a teachers duty to protect his students as well, is it not," Wombat said proudly, "Tawarayama-san and I will be there too."

"Now we're cooking," En nodded in approval, "Alright then, after school we settle this."

"Yeah!" Atsushi, Yumoto, and Wombat cheered.

"You guys," Ryuu whispered, feeling like he could breathe easy for the first time that day, "Thank you."

* * *

Ryuu returned to the classroom in better spirits than he was that morning, but most of him still dreaded the outcome. It may have felt good to confide in the others about his worries, but now they were directly involved. If he chose to sneak away as Vesta now, the others would still confront the thugs on his behalf, he knew it.

Io was already in the classroom, when he came back, reading something on his tablet.

"Hey, how was your call?" Ryuu asked, nonchalantly.

"Fine," Io replied, but his expression was severe.

"You sure? You seem upset."

"I am."

"Okaaay," Ryuu slid into his seat, "Wanna talk about it?"

"Yes, later. I need to sort out an important matter first."

Curious, Ryuu peeked at the screen, but upon seeing several long columns of numbers, he decided not to press.

The last two periods came and went. Ryuu spent most of the time watching the clock in hopes of slowing time to a crawl. Io remained absorbed in his tablet; so much so that he dropped any pretense of even _pretending_ to pay attention in class. It made for lonely breaks, but Ryuu didn't feel like talking much either.

Part of him still considered approaching Akoya and offering him servitude, but he realized he couldn't get close to him with Io still in the room. The idea was admittedly flawed from the outset. Even if he'd paid off his debt to the thugs, he'd be stuck in another one that would be even harder to hide.

When the last bell rang, Io immediately stood up. "I'm going on ahead," he said, "There's something I need to do."

"Alright, bye," Ryuu sighed. Well at least he didn't need to make up an excuse to ditch Io. He started for Class 3-C, when his phone buzzed revealing a two word text from En reading "Nurse's office." Ryuu sent back an "Ok" and changed course.

He found En alone, waiting for him.

"You ready? Let's go," he said, a little too quickly. He took off, leaving Ryuu with no choice but to follow him.

"Wait, what about Kinugawa-senpai and Yumoto?"

"I ditched them."

"_What?_"

"You don't want your best friend getting involved; I don't want mine," En said, "I can't discount the possibility of things getting dicey. If it does come to that, I can't protect all three of you at once."

"B-but what about strength in numbers?"

"Atsushi said it, not me. And be honest, just how intimidating do you find Atsushi and Yumoto?"

"…I see your point." Ryuu grimaced, "You know, how about I should just turn into Vesta and run. There's really no need for you to get involved."

"We're not letting you face this alone," En smiled at him, "Now come on. Atsushi catches on quick."

It only took one look at the courtyard for all of Ryuu's worst fears to materialize. En had been right to fear a commotion. Though most students were still inside for their club activities, a significant crowd was rapidly forming at the campus entrance, and even from the distance, Ryuu could see the bleached head of his adversary. Chest tightening and breath quickening, he scrambled to find an escape route. Screw confrontation and "strength in numbers". He needed to disappear.

Ryuu jumped when a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder, but upon seeing it belonged to En, he relaxed slightly.

"Don't panic," En whispered, "Just stay close to me." His soothing voice brought Ryuu to his senses and he found himself reluctantly nodding. "Let's go."

They sprinted towards the ever-growing crowd. The one upside of such a crowd was that it hid Ryuu from the thugs' view, but it also made reaching them a hassle. As En and Ryuu tried to push their way forward, a trio of familiar voices suddenly cried out, "Aniki!"

Ryuu stopped, turning his head to face the triplets. "Oh… you're here too…"

"Aniki, it's terrible!" One cried.

"These three scary guys were looking for you," another said.

"Y-yeah, I know—

"And then Naruko-senpai—

Whatever else the third boy had to say was drowned out as the words "Naruko-senpai" echoed in Ryuu's ears.

_No. No. No._

"_Io's_ over there? Shit," En cursed, and began pushing through with more effort.

"Io…" Ryuu whispered, and all own anxieties instantly evaporated, replaced by a fevered desire to _get the hell over there immediately!_

He dropped to his knees, taking advantage of his size to crawl through the forest of legs. Most students jumped back when they felt him brush past, making things a lot quicker. It wasn't long before he reached the front, and without a thought in his head, stumbled forward shouting, "Io!"

Io glanced back in surprise, and the thugs flashed predatory grins. "Well look who we have here," the leader remarked, "About time you showed your face, Zaou."

"Yeah, I'm here," upon seeing them face-to-face, Ryuu felt his fear return, but he pushed it back and protectively leapt in front of Io, arms outstretched. "This is between you and me. Leave my friend out of this."

"Um, Ryuu?" Io began, uneasily.

"I'm sorry. I'll explain later."

"Yes, but—

"Naruko!" En shouted, having finally pushed his way through. He didn't waste a moment moving beside Ryuu, and blocking him with his arm. He glared at the thugs. "Didn't I tell you to get lost already?"

The main thug's grin grew while his lackeys laughed. "Ah right, you're the bastard from this morning. Looks like your memory was jogged. And? Where was this great security of yours to chase us off?"

"Now well, that's actually _me_," En replied calmly, "Now how about we have a nice friendly chat and I spare you some humiliation?"

"Er, Yufuin-senpai—

"Bold words," the thug spat, "You sure _you_ won't be the one spared humiliation?" En's glare only intensified as he stared directly into the thug's eyes. Ryuu watched the two of them with bated breath; expecting a punch to be thrown at any moment. Part of him wanted to back away with Io, but he didn't dare leave En alone. In the corner of his eye, he could see Atsushi and Yumoto, with Wombat clutched in his arms, emerge from the crowd.

The silence stretched as everyone stood still, waiting to see what would come from En's taunts. Both sides had yet to make a move, but everyone knew that the tension would shatter any moment, when one of them was doubled over on the ground.

Io sucked in a breath. And in that moment, the other shoe dropped.

"Stop this at once," he shouted and as all heads turned to him, he moved Ryuu and En out his way and took his spot in front of the thug with arms crossed, "Are you really going to violate your contract not even five minutes after signing? Are you that eager to find out what sort of hell I can unleash?" En and Ryuu froze.

"Contract?" En's voice cracked.

"Io what are you—

"You, be quiet," Io snapped. Ryuu quickly closed his mouth. Satisfied, he continued, "Now then; you got your money, so it's time you hold up your end of the bargain and disappear. _Now_."

"Money?" Ryuu whispered, wide-eyed, "Io, you didn't!"

"Sure did," the thug sneered and swiftly pulled out a check from his pocket, waving it in front of Ryuu's face, "Looks like Lady Luck favors you, Zaou."

"But, then… What?"

"You've got decent pals," he glared at Io and En, "So consider yourself off the hook, _this time_. But don't ever let me catch you on our turf again, got it? Come on, boys." The three thugs, check safely pocketed, turned around and started walking down the steps.

Not wanting to give them the last word, En shouted after them, "Yeah, well, don't let _me_ catch you on _mine_." Whatever satisfaction he got from shouting that quickly disappeared when he turned to find himself face to face with an unamused Atsushi, Yumoto and Wombat. "Oh… you caught up."

"En-chan-senpai," Yumoto whispered darkly.

"That was not what we had agreed on," Wombat added. Atsushi didn't say anything, just narrowed his eyes further.

"There, there," En said sheepishly and pat Atsushi and Yumoto's heads in a meek attempt to pacify them, "I'm sorry, alright?"

"No, you're not," Atsushi glowered.

"Yeah, well… help me out here, Ryuu… Ryuu?"

"Io, you…you," Ryuu cried out, his senior's plight unnoticed, "How—why—what the hell?"

"That should be _my_ question," Io snapped back, "What the hell, Ryuu? Who was it that said "Don't dictate how other people spend their money"? How dare you act like you know what I will and will not spend my money on? How dare you not even _try_ asking me for help?"

"I didn't want you to worry!" Ryuu argued, "I didn't want you to think you needed to bail me out!"

"What do you think money exists for, idiot!"

"But 100,000—

"60,000."

"Huh?"

"I paid them 60,000," Io clarified, "50,000 for one paint job is ridiculous. I found a place that does it for 30."

Ryuu paused. "When did you—

"While _you_ were trying to sell yourself into servitude, _I_ was studying every motorbike repair shop in the area and comparing their services. If I have to lend money, I'm not lending out any more than necessary."

"When did—wait, was _that_ what you were doing in class?"

"Of course."

"But… how did you even find out about this?"

"Ryuu," Io's eye twitched, "If you're going to have a secret discussion, don't do it in a room we all use when you _know_ I would be showing up at any moment."

"But your ca—you were _listening_!?" Ryuu's voice rose in pitch as his face started to match his hair, "T-then you heard—

"Every word."

"…Shit."

"Indeed."

Ryuu pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to recompose himself. "Why?" he finally asked in a small voice.

"What do you mean "why?" How could you even ask me that?" Io lowered his voice, and for the first time Ryuu could see the hurt in his eyes. "Did you really think I'd let my _best friend_ face this alone?" His words stung Ryuu more than any punch would have.

"I'm sorry," Ryuu whispered, "I'm really sorry, Io. Thank you. Really, just… thank you." He moved close to Io and laid his head in his friend's shoulder. Io tensed at the sudden contact, but he didn't back off, letting his friend use him as a support. (He was grateful that the crowd had all but dissipated by that point though, with all the usual disappointment of a group missing out on an anticipated brawl.)

They stayed that way for a moment until Ryuu suddenly snapped to attention, remembering something. "Wait, did you seriously make them sign a _contract_?"

"Naturally," Io smiled and produced a handwritten sheet of paper from his bag. Three signatures could be seen at the bottom. "I found a respectable place for them to fix their bikes, with a better price than they expected to pay, and provided them with several resources on proper motorbike care. Clearly, if they can be toppled so easily, they're not treating them as well as they should. In exchange they are to leave you alone or I contact the proper authorities. A contract is a powerful thing."

Ryuu read the note over carefully. "No kidding," he nodded appreciatively, "And you found all of this out in roughly two hours?"

Io let out a wistful sigh. "I could have found a lot more if _someone_ told me about this earlier. I might even have been able to haggle the price down even more."

"Is that right? Next time, I'll come to you right away."

"I'd rather you not _have_ a "next time" in the first place."

"Er, yeah, that's what I meant."

"And you _will_ be paying me back, of course."

"No questions asked!"

"Good. We'll set up monthly payments of 100 yen."

Ryuu raised a brow. "Isn't that a little _too_ generous?"

"I fail to see what's wrong with it. It's 60,000 either way."

"Yeah, but that'll take me… um," Ryuu frowned when the number failed to appear in his head.

"Fifty years," Io provided, without missing a beat. Ryuu snorted.

"Fifty years? I take it back. That's not generous at all!"

"And I'll be charging interest on any payments you miss. I won't forget."

"_That_, I don't doubt," Ryuu admitted, "Well, want me to seal it with a contract?"

"That won't be necessary," Io smiled and held out his hand, "Man's honor, right?" Ryuu grinned.

"Of course!"

En watched as Ryuu grabbed Io's hand and pulled him under his arm so that he could tousle his hair, and laughed warmly. "Glad to see that's settled," he said.

"I knew it would all work out," Yumoto, having gotten over the earlier abandonment, exclaimed proudly.

"That reminds me, you knew Io was listening in, didn't you?"

"Yup."

"Then give us a heads up next time! My heart nearly stopped when I saw Naruko confronting those goons."

"Gee, how do you think I felt?" Atsushi muttered dryly. En winced.

"How about we just forgive and forget already," he offered, "Let's all just go to Kurotama and take a nice hot bath and—

"A cold shower would be more appropriate for you," Atsushi cut him off, "To cool off that overblown hero complex of yours."

"…You're not letting this go, are you?"

"Nope." Atsushi tone had a hint of playfulness though, letting En know he wasn't _too_ upset. En sighed.

"I'm sorry, really. I won't sneak off like that again, promise."

"Thank you."

With all that said and done, the Earth Defense Club started down the steps, eager to put the whole incident behind them. They were halfway down when Ryuu suddenly stopped and turned to Wombat, who was still nestled in Yumoto's arms.

"Hold on Wombat," he asked with wide eyes, "What did you do with Tawarayama-sensei?"

At the mention of their teacher, Wombat let out an undignified shriek, twisted out of Yumoto's grip and started back to the school frantically as the others watched in disbelief. It was hard to tell who started laughing first, but within a moment, peals of laughter echoed across the stairs.

It turned out to be a good day, after all.

* * *

**A/N: **(Five hours of edit work later... this is the significantly less sappy version!)

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. I've had this idea since around the time Episode 6 aired, and well, um, ta-da? (I'm worried I might have messed up Io though. He's actually really hard to write, but I definitely gained a new appreciation for him while writing... though the character I *really* enjoyed writing should be painfully obvious ^^")

So um, yeah. Thanks for reading, I'd love to hear any feedback and till next fic :)


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